


Prompt Fill 02

by Akz



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2138916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akz/pseuds/Akz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Requested: "Steve never got frozen, he lived through the war and all the years after it, as the serum had practically stopped his ageing. He has grown cold, broken, and distant, and his world is bleak and he sees it for all it's hate filled horror. That is until Howard calls him one day, and asks him to be his child Godfather. Little Tony is the only good thing in Steve world, and so Steve snaps when Tony's first words are "Uncle Teve!" Instead of dad or mom. And he kidnaps Tony, and 'saves' him from Howard"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prompt Fill 02

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill from my tumblr: @starkspangled-man
> 
> Tip of the hat to House of M Steve Rogers.

When the war ended, Steve and his team earned the weeklong carousal that ensued afterwards. Copies of newspapers with excitable headlines blazoned across them were shoved into people’s chests, their shoulders and backs thumped with hands heavy with alcohol. Drinks were passed around, stories and jokes shared, and significant others kissed. After the revelry wore off and the impending peacetime America waited before him, Steve found himself in the booth of his favorite Brooklyn bar nursing a beer alone and wondering how he would assimilate back into civilian life. His light eyes flicked over the others, some not quite finished with their celebrations, but other than a few exceptions, life was returning to normal.

“Are you going to stay on?” Bucky asked, leaning over Steve’s shoulder. Steve jumped.

“Buck, how many times do I gotta tell you not to do that?”

Bucky slid into the seat opposite Steve’s. “One or twelve more times. But really, are ya?”

“I don’t know,” Steve replied after a long moment of contemplation. He smiled.

“You could do anything, really.” Bucky cast a meaningful glance at Steve’s improved physique.

Steve nodded.

Decades slipped by like water through a sieve, with Steve working on various military bases. Life happened, as it was wont to do, and Steve ended up married and divorced by 1970. He stood at friends’ weddings, spoke out at civil rights rallies, and remained an icon for his country. Though World War II had been won, the world continued to fight amongst itself. Steve found himself horrified by the news of more war and terrorism. Steve could only serve his country, it was all he could do with his strength and tactical prowess. He rose to the rank of general before long, garnering many awards and decorations through the years. By the time Steve got a call from longtime friend Howard Stark, he was exhausted. The fight for his ideals was beginning to look bleak, nearly pointless. However, Howard brought good news into the overwhelming fog in Steve’s life.

“Cap-- er, General, now, right?” Steve could practically hear the grin over the phone line.

“General America doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?” Steve replied with a halfhearted chuckle.

“Not really. We’ll work on it. But hey, I called to let you know Maria’s just had the kid. It’s a boy. We named him Tony, and we both agreed you should be his godfather. What do ya say?”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. He curled his fingers around the spiral phone cord. “Already? Yeah, yes of course.” 

in the following years, as the Vietnam war began to come to an end, Steve returned home from active duty despite hardly aging for the previous twenty-some odd years. His first visit had him immediately smitten with the infant newborn, and he resolved to be a doting uncle to the child. Since things had gone south in his own relationship, he had no children of his own to care for. It served him well anyway, being gone on so many tours. He only missed a family in his quietest moments, and those hadn’t come along too frequently as of late. 

When Tony was just about a year old, Steve took a position at a military training camp near the Stark family home. He was jaded with the way the world was going, and Tony was just about the only thing that brought smiles to his face. 

“You could go anywhere! Anywhere! West Point, VMI, the Citadel! And you’re training at Fort Hamilton? West Point isn’t that far away...” Howard rambled as they walked through the large foyer of the Stark mansion.

“What can I say, it feels like home.” Steve smiled wanly.

They entered the sitting room where Tony was being minded by his nanny, his primary caregiver. Steve’s smile stretched wider across his face. He wouldn’t mention that part of the reason he stuck around and still lived in a tiny Brooklyn apartment was to be close to his godson. 

“Hiya Tone, how are you?” He asked the little boy, scooping him up off the floor where he was playing with a couple of plushy toys. Steve sat down on the couch and settled Tony in his lap, facing him so he could see his chubby face. He already had a small wisp of dark hair and bright, sharp eyes. Steve knew Tony was, and would be, special. Tony cooed and babbled his nonsense words up at him. 

“Is that so? How about a smile for Uncle Steve?” Steve held Tony’s tiny hands as Tony waved his arms.

“What are they paying you at Hamilton anyway?” Howard continued the conversation from moments earlier. Stark was leaning up against the mantle, pouring himself a scotch. “You can come work for SHIELD you know. That is, if it’s not too awkward.” Business as usual. Howard’s friendships had its merits, but it lacked an intimate worth more like the friendship he shared with Bucky. He could only imagine, especially given the way the nanny spent more time with Tony than Howard did, that he behaved the same way with his son. Steve opened his mouth.

“Unca ‘teve!”

Steve looked down at Tony sharply. His eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“What did he say?”

“Unca teve!” Tony repeated, tiny eyes trained up at Steve’s face.

“Oh my god,” Steve swore. He cringed at the slip. “Are those his first words?” He looked to Howard first. After a split second he turned to the nanny without waiting for a reply from Howard. “Are those his first words?”

“Well... His first coherent words, yes sir,” the nanny replied.

Howard’s face was sour, lips pressed into a line. Steve, however, was all smiles. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he fought them back. That sealed the deal. Steve couldn’t leave Tony. Not for any job or salary or war. He had to look after this small, impressionable boy. He had to be protected.

More years passed with Steve training and overseeing the Brooklyn base. He made a point to stop in on Tony frequently, and as the years passed he realized that Tony wasn’t getting the kind of home care that he truly deserved. He was a bright, inquisitive child, and at four he was already tinkering with electronics. Steve was so proud when Tony brought him his first circuit board, his face full of tears.

“What’s wrong, little man?” Steve asked, looking at the project in his hands.

“D-dadd-y won’t look,” Tony stammered, clearly trying to hold back his tears.

Steve took the circuit board and beamed proudly. “This is amazing! You did it all by yourself?” 

Tony nodded. Steve gingerly set the board down and scooped Tony into a bear hug. He could almost hear Howard’s words in his own head. _That’s nice, son. Now run along._ He could practically smell the alcohol on his breath, feel the icy stare that glossed over him only briefly. He rubbed Tony’s back and smiled when he felt tiny hands curl into his shirt.

That was the last straw. At four years old, Steve had seen enough of Howard’s mistreatment of Tony. That very night, Steve used his training and (super) natural abilities to break into the Stark mansion. Quick as lightning, he tossed a few of Tony’s things into his bag, including his first circuit board, then scooped up a confused toddler. 

“It’s okay, Tony. We’re just going on a little vacation, capisce? You have to be very very quiet though,” Steve murmured, wrapping Tony up and carrying him back out the way he came, slinking out the kitchen’s side door.

An hour later, Steve was carrying Tony through an early-morning customs line. He handed a boarding pass to England over to the attendant. He ran the instructions over and over in his head. It wasn’t that he thought he would forget, as if, his mind was ultra sharp. He never forgot a thing. However, he repeated the steps like a mantra for the comfort factor. 

He’d cashed in multiple favors for this peace of mind. An old war buddy was working a cushy desk job for MI6 and told him once exactly what to do. Once was all he needed.

_Fly into London. Take a cab to the address he’d been given. Ask for Cousin Scotty. Give him the envelope full of money. Take the train to Glasgow. Pick up an envelope from a man with blonde hair and yellow-lensed sunglasses in the Glasgow station bathroom. Someone with a sign will meet you outside and drive you to a safe house. Disappear._

Steve hugged Tony a little tighter as he settled into his seat. He breathed in deeply, then kissed the top of his head before reluctantly buckling him into the seat next to him. Tony deserved better, and he’d have it.


End file.
